In September the IMA is proud to present the work of Fiona Foley and Simryn
Gill in a show entitled "Your place or mine?" In the exhibition both of
these artists explore their links to their place of birth and culture and
the way it is presented.
As part of this unique exhibition, Fiona Foley, a Badtjala woman of Fraser
Island, presents photographs from the various series she has created over
the previous decade. These images, taken by the artist and in some instances
featuring her, aim to redefine and reclaim the photographic history of
indigenous people.
Fiona states, "It’s about putting Indigenous people up front in the world in
every way – in fashion, in exhibitions, and in the gallery system."
In the series "Badtjala Woman" & "Native Blood" Fiona directly addresses the
way her ancestors were ‘recorded’ for anthropological and archival purposes.
The artist is photographed topless from the waist up, variously adorned with
necklaces and baskets. Yet it is the artist /sitter who is in total control
of the image and what is being portrayed; and it is a quiet sense of dignity
and reclamation that radiates from these images.
In "Wild Times Call", the artist posed with the Seminole people of Montana
challenges the way these indigenous Americans are typically photographed. By
doing this, Fiona uses photography to show the underlying tenacity and
persistence of the Seminole people and culture and in doing so elevates
preconceived perceptions.
Other works of Fiona’s to be included in this exhibition are "Survival" and
"Ya Kri".
"Unlike my forebears, my discarded symbols may possibly leave a mark on this
urban landscape. The viewers have to draw their own conclusions. Yet I live
in hope that my heroine could be your heroine, as she defies all odds with
an unspoken eloquence of spunk." Fiona Foley
Simryn Gill’s work is both haunting and evocative. In the series of
photographs entitled "A small town at the turn of the century", we see
people calmly posed, positioned towards the camera all with various tropical
fruits on their heads obscuring their features. There is almost an immediate
reaction to these images of mirth, yet they demand further thought. Are
these people being classified like the fruit? Like people that have been
classified through the process of physiognomy these people have in a sense
been relegated to a type, which is something that everybody does immediately
when they view another human being. By tapping into the human instinct to
judge by appearance, Simryn’s images have the uncanny knack of giving us
insight into an intrinsic human behaviour.
In "Dalam" it is the interiors that are explored and photographed. These
images, although devoid of humans, still bear an undeniable trace of their
presence. Over a three month period in 2001 the artist traveled and recorded
the interiors of 258 homes in Malaysia where she was born and raised. To
allow an artist into their homes denotes a certain amount of pride and
ownership of their abode, indeed these homes are a reflection of their
owners’ tastes and ideals. Yet could you, if you didn’t know that these
images are of Malaysian homes, immediately specify the culture or the
country? Simryn’s photos explore much more than just domestic spaces and
they ask questions about both the inhabitants and the viewers that are not
easily answered.
"Dalam, Malay for ‘inside’, ‘interior’, ‘deep’ is based on the dichotomous
relationship between inside and outside – the physical as well as the
psychological." Excerpt from ‘Simyrn Gill Selected Work’.
IMAGE:
Fiona Foley,
Wild Times Call 4,
Photo: Peter Foe2001
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